Vietnam 1 Manchester City 8: Sterling shines as tourists run riot

Manchester City produced a scintillating performance against Vietnam on Monday as they cruised to an 8-1 win in Hanoi.

Published

27 July 2015

Raheem Sterling continued his fine start to his Manchester City career with a brace in their comprehensive 8-1 friendly win over Vietnam on Monday.

After opening his City account in his first appearance against Roma, Sterling went one better in Hanoi as he scored twice in 12 minutes against a national team ranked joint 143rd in the world.

The former Liverpool forward was not the only City player to find the back of the net twice in the Vietnamese capital, with Aleksandar Kolarov and David Silva also replicating the feat.

Substitutes Marcos Lopez and Jose Angel Pozo completed the rout - before Van Quyet scored a late consolation for the hosts - as the Premier League team cruised to a comfortable triumph.

It took City 11 minutes to open the scoring as Kolarov curled home a free-kick after Navas had been felled on the edge of the penalty area.

The Serbian opted for placement over power as - at the second attempt - he sent the ball around the Vietnam wall and into the bottom-left corner.

Sterling quickly muscled his way into the action and after 20 minutes had his second City goal, the England international executing a superb first-time shot across Vinh Loi from 18 yards.

Less than a minute later, Silva added City's third after being gifted far too much space by the Vietnam defence, the Spaniard's initial header hitting the bar before he turned in the rebound.

A rampant performance from Pellegrini's side showed no signs of relenting as Sterling – who had recovered from a knock to the back – netted again with a cool finish from Kelechi Iheanacho's pass.

Sterling's hat-trick moment appeared to have arrived five minutes after the break as he was felled in the penalty area, but he was denied the chance as stand-in captain Kolarov converted from the spot.

Silva joined Sterling and Kolarov with a double just after the hour as his last touch brought City's sixth goal, the diminutive playmaker lifting the ball over Loi from Sterling's pass.

Despite a host of changes in the second half, City's continued to push for more and they were rewarded after 74 minutes as Lopes' scuffed effort crept under substitute goalkeeper Nguyen Thanh Diep.

Pozo then added number eight, before there was late joy for Vietnam as Van Quyet grabbed a consolation in stoppage time, the striker deftly lobbing the advancing Willy Caballero.